Rah Goddess' Guide to Life

Gotta love a bit of Paolo. I am not sleeping at night but likewise am not tripping the bar crawl fantastic Several reasons for this lack of zzzzzz. I’m away from home and my own bed. It’s oppressively hot in Paris at the moment. And I cannot shut my talkative brain up. Blah blah and then you should, what about this, you could, should, hope, blah blah blahdity bleurgh. Honestly shut it brain for one second with all your creative yearnings, worries, thoughts, feelings and dissecting every aspect of my life. It also gets worse with every night I don’t sleep, hopefully my own bed should help heal this. Also making lists should help, hopefully, won’t it?

Key operative word. Hopefully.

So scientists pitch sleep as an important part of leading a fairly sane healthy life, it figures! Thoughts are actually hurting me a bit, starting to feel like I’m heading on a vaguely bumpy unused path towards weird ideas and sleep deprived emotions. Beginning to understand part of what my other half has been going through, being away from home, exploring on your own, coming back after work to an empty abode and all you can hear is other people living their lives in the distance. A medley of words in a different language, city chatter and oh my god, the traffic.

I will be happy to be at home, relieve the housesitters of the duty and reclaim my dog, I miss being there and have only a short time to enjoy it before work starts again. The sad thing is, I love this city and being here with the man has been fantastic but. I’m over it now. Want home and the man to back with me in it. Roll on Thursday peeps Saying that, I am set to blog ten times about Paris. If you hate the French, dislike cities or just are grumpy, avert your eyes over the next few weeks

I am back x

I am a little pooped, mad busy time at school - observations, assessments and planning - not to mention teaching Already we are looking towards holiday time, thinking hot sunny weather, long white sandy beaches and crystal blue waters. Breathe in, exhale. Relax. Read, lounge, chat, swim, recline gracefully on a scrumptiously plush sun lounger with a cool glass of something decadent. I am there. We’re hoping to go somewhere new. Fingers crossed!

So where in the world are you hoping to go to next and when are you going? I have been to so many nice places and can’t wait to sample a few new ones this year!

Langkawi 2008 x

Copyright © National Palace Museum, Taiwan
Ode on Leisurely Living
Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), Yuan dynasty
Handscroll, ink on paper, 38 x 248.3 cm

For some that know and for others that don’t. My husband and I were married in December 2007 and for our honeymoon set sail on a voyage around the world. Phileas Fogg eat your heart out! We had no need to rush as our cruise took 101 nights to glide around the waters of the Old World (we missed out America - North and South). Some of the destinations and ports were not ones that I’d thought about going and also others were some I’d never heard of. Don’t judge me. I love geography, maps and have extreme wanderlust running through my veins but I never knew the capital of Taiwan is Taipei. Well after our trip there I did know, as Taipei was an interesting city if not a slightly confused one. Stunningly beautiful in parts and yet strikingly modern in others. Green spaces and steel construction sit side by side as do Chinese and Taiwanese inhabitants. Opinion shifts from person to person about whether their country is China or Taiwan. But my post is not about that aspect of a country divided, it is about instead the shared art, history and of course, calligraphy.

I have to say that Taipei’s National Palace Museum, located in the Waishuanghsi neighborhood of the Shihlin District, is one of the best museums that I have ever been to. It is a rare example of an educational and yet beautiful place . On the coach from Keelung to Taipei I read that visitors worldwide often just visit Taiwan to go to the museum and thought that it was hyperbole. It wasn’t, isn’t and you should definitely try and visit there if you’re in that neck of the woods. The building itself is amazing and stands out in the green of the parks around it.

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. The description on its description page there is shown here. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. You can help.

However, one of the major permanent exhibits, which to me is indicatively Chinese, were the rooms and rooms of gorgeous script. Handwriting as art. Ink flowing over reams of delicate wafer thin silky paper. Chinese calligraphy and painting. It was awesome. Trust me So much so, I HAD to queue up and buy the exhibit book - Marvelous Sparks of the Brush. Which made us a couple of minutes late for the coach, which absolutely pissed Dan off and then made me annoyed because we had had three weeks of waiting for latecomers getting on the coach and I was only two minutes late dammit! We had about a hour not talking to each other and I sulked and so did Dan. It was pants. However that inspired me to go twirling in my pink coat alone in an empty square. Rockin’, it’s one of my favourite trip pictures.

So the book and of course the museum. I am eventually reading it, remembering what we saw there and it is fascinating. How letters have become masterpieces and oh my God, the titles of some of them. ‘Calligraphing ‘Water Curtain Wave’ by a T’ang Poet, Chao Meng-fu, Yuan Dynasty’. I can’t find a picture online of it but the calligraphy looks like water on the page. I am in love with it. The patience and skill it must’ve taken, years and years to practice and accomplish, so no mistakes were made. It makes me recall a time when I was 12. New Berol calligraphy pen in hand, oh yeah, check me. I spent hours trying to write Old World stylee. To no avail. It was okay, just not perfect… story of my procrastinating life that is! Maybe I shall ink up (Dan and I have a lovely pen and ink from Spain) and have a go this Christmas. ‘Tis the season of lovely traditions after all. And what better way to celebrate than taking a bit of extra TLC with my cards. Until I get bored or too drunk that is. Well you can’t write Christmas cards without some Christmas cheer can you?! Tipsy in charge of a pen? My words will be looking like water for an entirely different reason!

Merry writing….

xxxx

Some Taiwanese treats to chew on! Well not literally as munching on your computer monitor might hurt!

*I did this through Picture2Life and it is cool for making collages - I am rahgoddess there too if you wanna check me out or add me! Really cool find xxx

ps - I am also going to add my flickr widgety thing (well, ask Dan to ) so you can see the pictures I’ve taken a lot better!

Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!
Nikita Khrushchev

St Basil’s Cathedral Moscow, Alex Zelenko Creative Commons License 3

So Russia. 54. Speak Russian in Russia. One of my many outstanding bucket list goals. I have been fascinated by the vast sweeping country since I picked up War and Peace and then saw the Audrey Hepburn’s film version of the book.

Not the best adaptation, but not as bad as Laurence Olivier and his version of Pride and Prejudice, shudder. But anyway, back to Red Square, the Winter Palace, the Mariinsky Theatre and other such chocolate box jewels nestled in the dark landscape of extreme nights, long lasting cold spells and copious amounts of the white stuff. Mmm vodka.

Various books have fuelled my interest in Russia, particularly the language and culture. I enjoyed Marcus Sedgwick’s Blood Red Snow White which is the story of Arthur Ransome’s exploits as a spy prior to his Swallows and Amazons success. Recently I also devoured The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall which although set in China (another country I find fascinating) it’s story and blood is Russian. I have read a bit, watched many travel programmes, documentaries and films about the place but can’t imagine a Russia that is now. Sitting in cafes sipping flavoured vodka - no mixer! Waltzing through history through the arcades that surround Red Square. Whiling away the morning at the Hermitage steeped laguoriously in art and Faberge jewelled delights. Dressing up up for the opera or the ballet (also on my list!)at the Kirov would be a royal treat! Speaking Russian scares me but I’m working on that, I have plenty of time until I don my fur hat and camera. Looking forward to it!

До свидания (Do Svidanya)

xxxx

Howday hope you are all having a creative Wednesday I am kinda, today has been such a weird one filled with crap feeling and restlessness. So to try and order myself out of verging towards negativity (read mardiness) I decided to make a few lists and plans - first of all my to do list for the rest of the year. Yikes! I cannot believe it is almost December.

Bucket List work in progress…

4. Grow my hair long
My hair has gone from short bob to grazing about 2 inches from my shoulders. It is a messy though, the condition is rubbish, I really need to do something to improve it. However, I am already feeling better about the length, it has more versatility this way. I should think about going to see the hairdresser though, it’s in dire need of a cut.

5. Get in shape – be a comfortable size 10
Already written a post about this. Fat photos from Halloween have been my catalyst. Eurrgggh. Sick of hiding in pictures and taking sooooo long to get ready. I want to be comfortable, so new exercise regime is being worked out as I type - brilliant multitasker me!

6. Try ice-skating outdoors
Whoop whoop! Finally doing this at Somerset House on my December weekend jaunt to see my Feltham Laydez. Cannot wait! So excited about this one

7. Complete my NQT year, and 32. Get a MA
Still applying for jobs, working around starting the MA with my teachers union ATL. I will update when I make a decision or I hear it about it further.

10. Make gorgeous handmade presents for Christmas
Working on giving everyone at least something handmade - one thing - I will take pictures as I work and post them post Christmas.

16. Play Fur Ellise on the piano
Just! I just started practising again and it feels really good to play, although it’s on my keyboard and not my lovely piano!

19. Research and make a family tree
I hoping to to start ordering all the information into books so I can chop and change genealogy sites without subscribing, yep I’m a tightwad!

25. Organise all my video and photo albums
A must before Christmas!!!! I am determined to start this, will post a project to do list, sorry if I’m boring you all with my lists

35. Be able to do a headstand and touch my toes in Yoga
Part of my getting into shape is to start Yoga again! I own quite a few dvds, my plan tomorrow is do one of them. Then maybe I will try and find a local class.

36. Learn how to make the perfect cosmo
Note to self, get Dan to teach me! He made the nicest cosmopolitans over the weekend

39. Finish and publish my book
Started writing again, doing Nanowrimo, really enjoying it!

40. Organise, sell and donate unused clothing, and items I own
Begun the massive task of sorting, filing, cleaning my spaces. Already filled one bag - going to do a car boot sale with my sister and then donate the rest to charity. The leftovers will go into the bin. Result.

68. Create and read a 100 book reading list and 69. Create and watch a 100 film watching list
Will post these shortly

70. Make gorgeous bags and 81. Make jewellery
Going to make a couple in time for Christmas - so watch this space.

80. Learn to count to ten in ten different languages
Started got 1. Spanish and 2. French - will post videos soon Working on 3. Russian and 4. Japanese

92. Make ten new good friends and take the time to cement ten friendships already gained
Dan and I made a kinda pact to make more of an effort with the friends we have, so we have been going out, having people over and being social butterflies. I forsee busy times ahead as we have no free spare weekends in November, all booked out - will be shattered by Christmas!

Done for now, expect longer update posts for each item as I journey through the last two months of the year!

Time flies…

xxx

So this is basically the start of my charting things I have already achieved. I will do it chunks of ten because it’s a nice round number

So here we go!

1. I have fallen in love, truly, madly, deeply.

Understood love songs and poetry, even writing some of my own. Stomach flipping, hands trembling, lip quivering, in love. Mmmm gorgeous.

2. Married my best friend.

See above

3. Gone a world voyage - a sun drenched, salt water extravaganza of a blissful honeymoon. 101 nights of cruising around the Old World. I have always wanted to travel, this was heaven in a holiday for me, especially given I got to share it with my favourite person.

4. Snorkelled at the Great Barrier Reef - amazing colours and even more amazing was this for a person afraid of fishes. Yeah you read right, I am afraid of fishes.

5. Climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge - oh yeah! So much fun, even in the rain!

6. Walked underwater in Mauritius - oh yeah the fish have no power over me… ermmm yeah right!

7. Qualified as a Teacher (got my PGCE) - hellish course resulting in a fab friend and a teaching certificate!

8. Went to University in London and studied Film, made two of the best friends ever - Feltham Laydez rule!

9. Lived in Paris for some time at the beginning of this year and I will never grow tired of this city. Thank you wonderful husband who took the job that gave me this opportunity!

10. I own a pair of Christian Louboutins!

Rightio more posts tomorrow, now to bed as Noodle is shattered! xxx